The Girl Next Door
by mandrina
Summary: The effect that being a father too soon has on Luke's view of the world and the OT, OC, secondary characters Leia, Han, Yoda, Ben,


The double sun beat down on the Tatooine desert as the jawa trawler pulled over the rise to the farm of Owen Lars. The older man strode out to where the jawas were setting out the droids, his 20 year old nephew following after him. After a few moments, a woman's voice could be heard coming from the depressed courtyard and shortly a young woman, almost a girl, came out, jogging after the boy.

"Luke, Luke." she called and he slowed so she could catch up. "Your aunt says to remind Uncle if he gets a translator to make sure it speaks Bocce." Luke made a face. "It doesn't look like we have much choice, but I'll remind him." He turned back toward his uncle and the jawas. The girl watched him unhappily, gingerly scratching around the black and purple bruise on her left cheek that he had given her yesterday, then headed back into the house.

Manny followed Luke into the garage. "Anakin's asleep, so your aunt sent me out to help."  
Luke surveyed the two droids. "Fine, I'll put the big one into the oil bath. It could use a week, but it'll have to settle for an afternoon. You work on the little one." Manny knelt beside the R2 unit, who whistled at her. She selected a tool and started scraping off some carbon scoring. The big gold droid was babbling on as Luke lowered it into the oil bath. Both young people ignored it. Luke picked up a toy shuttle and zoomed it about a bit with one hand as he searched through a tool box.

Manny watched him as she scraped, gauging his mood. Finally she blurted out. "Have you considered, maybe we could move to Anchorhead. Your aunt and I stopped by the school and we could both get jobs and they'd have a slot for Anakin and maybe we could move out of your bedroom."  
Luke eyed her suspiciously. "What are you and Aunt Beru cooking up?"  
Manny kept scraping, moving into one of the slots on the R2's front. "We're not going to fit in that bedroom forever and maybe we should be on our own. This little thing has something jammed in tight here. You want to fly that shuttle over here and look at this?" Something clicked and a moving figure, about a foot tall, was projected onto the floor. The female form spoke, looked to the side, bent over, then flickered, and repeated the movements. Both Manny and Luke stared.

"Obi-wan." Luke murmured.

"She's beautiful. Sounds like she's in trouble." Manny added. Luke knelt on the other side of the little droid, fiddled with it, and nothing changed. Luke searched the droid's 'face,' then had a thought unrelated to the holographic figure, "What happened at the clinic this morning? This came on after that. What are you tring to tell me?" He had a wrench in one hand, a screwdriver in the other.

Manny scooted a bit to the side, watching his hands as she spoke. "The doc said, we must be something special. He checked on the shot function. My immune system is running at full power, which means you're immune to it, and as far as stopping ovulation goes, he might as well have been giving me sterile water. He says my combo is really rare, only a very few don't work at all and even fewer work halfway. And then to match up with a guy who's immune, well that's close to statistically impossible. It's not my fault, I had every shot, every week. You witnessed them yourself." She was talking faster as Luke turned on her, the repeating message forgotten.

"You mean, you're telling me you're pregnant."  
She nodded vigorously, backing up all the while. "The doc says we're lucky we don't already have two more." She covered her head with her arms and cowered as he swung at her. Halfway through the swing, he realized that if he actually hit her with the wrench in his hand, he would kill her. His angle changed and the wrench went flying, clanging off the little droid and breaking off the restraining bolt, which caused the figure to disappear. Neither Luke nor Manny noticed and Luke turned back to the little droid, cursing. The big gold droid continued talking, unhindered by the fighting. Manny escaped into the dusty yard. Owen Lars was likely to be even less happy than his nephew.

Aunt Beru called Luke to dinner. Manny wasn't there and the high chair was empty. "Where's Manny."  
"She's outside." Owen Lars watched his nephew pick at his food. "She says she's pregnant again and the shots don't work."  
"That's what she tells me," Luke answered angrily, pouring his cup full from the pitcher his aunt set on the table.  
Beru spoke up. "Is that what you were fightling over when you took a swing at her with the wrench. That's not really the best way to deal with a problem. You are going to have to stop blaming her for your not being able to go to the academy."

Luke put the cup down and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "As if Uncle has ever demonstrated a better way for dealing with problems. I don't blame her for the Academy. I know very well if Anakin hadn't come along, Uncle would have come up with a good guilt-ridden reason for me not to transmit my application until it was too late. I'd still be stuck on this ball of sand. Now I can't even run away. I have responsibilities." He spat the word out and tossed his fork down disgustedly. "By the way, I think those droids might be stolen. We found a partial message and the little one says it's the property of an Obi-wan Kenobi. I thought he might be a relative of crazy old Ben's."  
Owen and Beru locked eyes. "Those droids are ours now and you take them into Anchorhead tomorrow and have them wiped. I've heard of Obi-wan and he died a long time ago. Do it early, we've got to get the evaporators on the south ridge fixed by midday tomorrow." Luke rolled his eyes and stood up.  
"Where are you going?" his aunt asked after him.  
"It looks like I'm going nowhere. I've still got those droids to clean."  
Beru watched her nephew climb the stairs. "Maybe he should go get a job in Anchorhead and they can move out of his bedroom. It might be better for them to be on their own."  
Owen turned to look at the empty stairs, sighed and shook his head. He returned his attention to his food without answering.

* * *

Luke sat heavily down on his side of the bed in the crowded little room and pulled his boots off. Manny lay curled in a miserable ball facing away from him. He hung his shirt and pants on the foot of the bedstead and slipped under the sheet with her. Anakin shifted in his crib but didn't wake up. Luke put a hand on her arm, but all Manny did was pull tighter into herself. He pulled her braid playfully, gently, then harder and finally she sighed and uncurled. The sigh infuriated him and he reached for her, exercising his privileges roughly, then rolling over to sleep when he was sated. He felt her slip out of the bed, but was asleep before he could realise she didn't return.

He was up the next morning well before dawn to go chase after the little R2 unit and found Manny sleeping on the floor in the shed. He nudged her gently with his foot to wake her, and lifted her to standing. "The baby's not awake yet. If you're real quiet, you might get another hour of sleep. I have to go find that R2 unit. Just tell uncle I had something to do. When I find it, I'll take them to Anchorhead like Uncle wants and be back before lunch." He cupped her left cheek, splaying his fingers to avoid the bruise. "I'm sorry about yesterday and last night. We'll deal with it." She met his gaze very briefly, then dropped her eyes. He let her go and turned away.

* * *

The stormtroopers came suddenly. Manny was frightened, Anakin wailed. They wanted to know about the droids, where they were, where the other members of the household were. One kept poking his gun at Anakin. Manny told them everything she knew about where Luke had gone. The leader spoke into a comlink, then spoke to the trooper poking at Anakin. "Quit that and put them in the transport. They're going to Lord Vader. Execute the other two." Manny screamed as they shot Owen and Beru Lars, but was cut off as she felt a prick in her shoulder. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

* * *

Luke was staring out the door of Kenobi's house thinking about his new problems and paying no attention as Kenobi played the message. Feelings of being trapped were uppermost in his mind. He barely even listened to Kenobi's story of his father.

* * *

Luke made a rapid seach of the burning farmhouse. He couldn't find Manny or Anakin, and he felt, with absolute certainty, that they weren't there. He hurried back to Kenobi. He would mourn Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru later. Now he had to find Manny and the baby, and Kenobi and his force were the best chance.

* * *

The big man in the black mask was holding Anakin. Two stormtroopers were holding Manny, kneeling, with her arms twisted behind her back. She was so terrified she couldn't make a sound. He looked the two year old up and down, then handed him to the technician next to him. "Put them both in cryogenic stasis for delivery to the Emperor."

* * *

R2 whistled "I've found her, she's here, she's here."  
"Manny's here?" Luke demanded. "No, Princess Leia."  
"Who?" responded Han. "She was a passenger on our last ship. She's part of the Alliance." C 3PO said. R2 displayed her picture on a screen. Han squinted at the image and whistled in appreciation. "She's beautiful."  
"Oh no, she's scheduled for termination." C-3PO translated.  
"We can't let that happen. Besides, think of the reward for rescue. Hey kid, shall we go rescue a damsel in distress?" Han winked at Chewbacca, who howled, then hooted. Luke rolled his eyes and stood up. "Sure, Let's go. I don't suppose he found Manny like I asked him to?" The R2 unit whistled dejectly. Han added sympathetically. "Maybe the rebels can help you find your family, even if they're not here now." Luke shrugged. "What if someone should find us." 3PO asked worriedly. Han grinned. "Act like you belong here. Nobody will think any different." The three walked out.

* * *

Han ran down the detention corridor, searching for the Princess's cell. Once he found it, he blew the door off, carefully, of course. A dark-haired young woman peered out through the smoke as Han took off his helmet. "Princess, I'm here to rescue you. I'm Han Solo and I'm here with a kid who found your droids and Ben Kenobi." The Princess stepped out as Luke and Chewbacca came running down the hall,  
"We're gonna have company. Any other ideas, that way is blocked." Luke and Chewbacca flattened themselves against the wall as troopers began firing at them." The princess stared from one man to the other and said. "This is some rescue. When you came in, didn't you have a plan for getting out?" Luke fired, dropping a trooper. "This was his idea." He nodded at Han, who shrugged, grinned and dropped another trooper before the Princess grabbed his gun and fired into the garbage chute grate. Chewbacca followed her with prodding from Luke, then Han jumped in, whooping, and finally Luke.

* * *

Luke was angry. His best hope for finding Anakin had just been cut in half by Vader. Luke couldn't believe that Ben had just given up and let Vader kill him. The crazy old man. Leia tried to comfort him, but in vain. Finally she offered a refuge. "If you stay with us, assuming we survive, any information useful for finding your family you can have. In the meantime, we'll have a place for you. You'll always have friends and a place you're welcome." Luke managed to look appropriately grateful. Leia patted him on the shoulder and went into the cockpit. "Your friend is rather young to be as bitter as he is. I feel sorry for him." She slid into the seat next to Han. Han smiled wanly. "His day has been about as bad as yours." He covered her hand with his and she smiled at him. Han thought a moment. "I got into this for the money, not for your revolution,"  
Leia pulled her hand away, regarding him coolly. "If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive."  
Han chewed on his lip. "It's not quite that. If I don't pay Jabba off, I'm a walking dead man. No good to anyone. By the time I get back there, it'll probably take 25,000 to get Jabba off my back, which is a tad more than the old man offered me to get the droids to the Alliance. But I heard part of your offer to Luke, and if I could get you to sit next to me every once in a while, then I can be had. Your rebellion will be up one ship and two pilots, as soon as I take care of Jabba. Of course, if we don't survive, I guess Jabba's out of luck."  
The princess smiled and shook her head. "You got yourself a deal."

* * *

The Falcon shot in behind the trailing TIE fighters, having finally broken the group that had dogged it since the Rebel force first attacked the Death Star. Han's voice came through the com. "Ok kid, now blow this thing so we can go home." Luke did.  
There was lots of cheering and people were smacking Luke's back. Leia rushed into the middle of the crowd of self-congratulatory fighters, hugged as many as she could, including Luke and grinned big at Han. Han grinned back and grabbed her, bending her back for a prolonged kiss, to ever louder cheers. The wookie howled happily and picked them both up for a hug.

* * *

Luke killed the the snow beast on Hoth, and spent the night in its lair. It was still damn cold, cold enough for sleep to be dangerous. Added to what little sleep he'd had in the last four days, he thought he was seeing things when the vision from Ben told him to go to Dagobah and seek the Jedi Master Yoda for training, but hey, what was there to lose. In the morning, when he stepped into the bright cold sunshine, his comlink crackled and he answered the call. He could hear Wedge tell the other searching speeders to go back to their patrols, the missing man was found.

* * *

On Dagobah, Yoda rummaged in Luke's box, coming up with the lamp. R2 and the little fellow battled tug-of-war over it for a few moments, then Luke reached in and tried to retrieve it himself. Yoda jerked back as if burned. "As I thought. Train him I will not. Far too old he is to unlearn what he carries. Destroy everything he will. Remove his ship I will so leave he can." All of Ben's arguments were for naught, Yoda freed the X-wing from the swamp, and Luke left within 24 hours of landing, returning to the Alliance even more bitter than before. The Falcon shot out of the asteroid field right after the Imperial fleet went to lightspeed. It limped halfway to the rendevous point, at which time Han finally repaired the hyperdrive. They returned to the Alliance fleet.

* * *

A year later, Luke stood in the Emperor's presence, having just killed Vader. He had gotten there as part of the team sent to Endor. The alliance's mission failed and Luke's succeeded. He stood over a body that was more machine than man. The Emperor smiled. "We shall rule the galaxy together, and train your son. He is here waiting for you, my new apprentice." Through the viewport of the new Death Star, Luke watched impassively as the Rebel fleet was easily destroyed. Slowly the emperor's glee suffused him.


End file.
